"The new sir.com was created to tell the story of a home in a more editorial way, not the commoditized approach that can often be found in our industry," said Wendy Purvey, chief marketing officer, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. "We believe the art of marketing a home is based on showcasing its soul, so every aspect of the new site works toward this goal."
The design changes include an increased focus on full-screen, high-definition video throughout the site, from the homepage to property detail pages, to allow for a more immersive consumer experience. High-resolution photography also plays a more prominent role.
The property detail pages feature: slideshows that tell a home’s story via the captions, custom video, location overviews that provide insight into the local area via video and text, and a seller or expert quote that offers a personal view of the property.
Consumers still can search for a home based on lifestyle and amenity but now have the ability to sort their results by various home features including pools, kitchens and views, and compare visual images of that feature among their search results.
"At the foundation of the Sotheby’s International Realty brand is our focus on lifestyle," said John Passerini, vice president of interactive marketing for the brand. "Our lifestyle search is more visual, and our focus on video and photography allows our affiliates to showcase the various lifestyles a home offers that cannot be properly articulated in words only. Our fully responsive site works on any mobile device and allows our network members to do what we believe they do best: uniquely showcase extraordinary homes around the world anytime, anywhere and in any language."
